Timber Frame for a Straw Bale Home

This project was a pleasure to work on. The frame was a straightforward four bents with some great details.

Two dormers were framed out on one roof slope. Bent girths were joined with lower revealed oak splines. There was no wasted space in this design as the custom ladder with hand-shaved ash rungs leads the clients to the upper loft.

The interesting part of this project is the 18” thick straw bale wall outside the frame. The straw bales were acquired from a farmer in Antigonish. The walls will be parged with a traditional clay-straw mix and left to cure.

It was nice to see both fathers of the clients working from dawn to dusk. Also, special thanks go to Mike McMahon for pushing hard to see the job through, and to local craftsman Steve.

Lastly, thanks to the clients, Chad and Shauna Munro for letting us build their dream and for being great hosts.

Update – Spring 2008
Some photos of the finished straw bale house. Interior walls have been parged. You can see the depth of the walls at the door and window casings

Why Choose Wise Owl Joinery

We are a small Nova Scotia company doing custom traditional timber framing, dovetail log building and custom timber structures. Richard Cormier is a skilled and conscientious craftsman. His skills, honed by years of experience working for a variety of timber frame and log builders as well as in his own business, are matched by a fine creative and aesthetic sense.

We only take on one job at a time and finish it before we start another. That way we are totally focused on you and your project. We tackle projects large and small.